Why is the Shabbat before Pesah called Shabbat Hagadol?

Responsa in a Moment

Vol. 16, No. 4

April 2022

Why is the Shabbat before Pesah called Shabbat Hagadol?

(Orah Hayyim 430)

By Rabbi David Golinkin

Question from Rabbi David Ebstein of Jerusalem: Why is the Shabbat before Pesah called Shabbat Hagadol?

Responsum: Many rabbis and scholars have tried to solve this riddle since the 12^th century (see the Bibliography below). The mystery was already emphasized by four books from the 12^th century attributed to “the school of Rashi”: “And the Shabbat before Pesah, the people are accustomed to call it Shabbat Hagadol, and they do not know why”.(1) Indeed, I myself briefly discussed this topic in my responsum about eating Kitniyot on Pesah (see Golinkin). Yet, ein bet midrash lelo hiddush, there is no Torah study without an innovation. In my responsum below, I will survey many of the explanations, add some newly discovered sources, and arrive at what I believe to be the original use of the term Shabbat Hagadol.

I) Supposed Christian Origins of Shabbat Hagadol

A number of modern scholars have tried to connect Shabbat Hagadol to Christian sources and terminology.

1. The Gospel of John (19:31) reports that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, which was also the day before Pesah. The Jews requested that the body should not remain on the cross on Shabbat:

King James, 1611: “for that Sabbath day was an high day”.

New English Bible, 1970: “since that Sabbath was a day of great solemnity”.

Revised Standard Version, 1971: “for that sabbath was a high day”.

New Revised Standard Version, 1989: “especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity”.

Hebrew New Testament, Franz Delitzsch, 1877: וגדול יום השבת ההוא – [=and great was that Sabbath day]

Hebrew New Testament, 1976: כי גדול היה אותו יום שבת  — [=for great was that Sabbath day]

Vulgate, Latin, late 4^th century and 1590: “erat enim magnus dies ille Sabbati” [=for that was a great sabbath day].

It’s worth noting that although the Latin and Hebrew translations of the Greek say that that Shabbat was a great Sabbath day, none of the English translations say that that Shabbat was “great”. In any case, according to this source, Pesah was a high day, a day of great solemnity, a great Sabbath day; but not the Shabbat before Pesah.

2. According to the Apostolic Constitution (B.5.18), the Great Sabbath was the Sabbath before Easter (Yuval, p. 225; Zeitlin, p. 458). Traditionally, Christians attribute this work to Clement of Rome (d. ca. 104 CE), but modern scholars attribute it to a Syrian author ca. 380 CE. Similarly, the week before Easter was called the Great Week, according to John Chrysostom (Constantinople 347-407 CE) and according to the traveler Egeria who arrived in Jerusalem in 383 CE (Yuval, p. 225).
3. Finally, in 1974, Prof. Moshe Sharon, a well-known expert on Arabic epigraphy, published an Arabic tombstone inscription from Ramle. It says in Arabic: “…died on as-sabbat alkabir [=the great Shabbat] at the end of the 14^th day of Nisan, in the year 331 [of the Hejirah = 943 CE]. May his creator have mercy upon him Amen”. If this was the tomb of a Jew, it might indicate that the term Shabbat Hagadol was in use in Eretz Yisrael in the year 943 CE. However, after careful analysis of the Arabic used in the inscription, he proves that this was not the tombstone of a Muslim or a Jew or a Karaite, but rather of a Christian. They had many terms for the Sabbath before Easter and one of them was as-sabbat alkabir, the great Shabbat.

In 1948, Solomon Zeitlin – who was preceded in this theory by Adolph Jellinek in 1851 – wrote: “Now we must assume that the early Christians who called the Sabbath before Pascha (Easter) the Great Sabbath must have adopted this nomenclature from the Jews”. However, as many rabbis and scholars have stressed – and as Zeitlin admits — the term Shabbat Hagadol does not appear anywhere in rabbinic or Geonic literature (ca. 500-1000). It first appears in the 12^th century as we shall see below. It makes no sense to claim that an ancient Jewish term was adopted by the Christians in the first or fourth century even though it’s first mentioned by Jews in the 12^th century!

Zunz in 1859, Lewy in 1904, and Elbogen in 1913 also assumed that the term the Great Sabbath of the Church Fathers passed to the Jews, but they offer no proof of how or when this occurred. Finally, Yuval writing in the year 2000 also claimed that the Jews of 12^th century Germany began to use the Christian term and then the rabbis followed suit, but he offers no actual proof that the Jews borrowed this term from their Christian neighbors.

II) Medieval Homiletical Explanations

1. To commemorate a miracle which happened on Shabbat Hagadol

There are three versions of this medieval explanation:

1. Da’at Zekeinim attributed to the Tosafists to Exodus 12:3 cite a “midrash”, that when the Israelites took the lamb for the Pesah sacrifice (Exodus 12) on the 10^th of Nisan it was Shabbat. When the Egyptians saw that they had taken the lamb to slaughter, they gathered against the Israelites in order to kill them, for the gods of the Egyptians were animals (Exodus 8:22), and God performed a miracle and they were saved “and therefore it is called Shabbat Hagadol because of the greatness [=godel] of the miracle”.
2. Tosafot (Shabbat 87b, v. ve’oto) say that this Shabbat is called Shabbat Hagadol because a great miracle occurred on that day, as it says in a “midrash”: The Egyptian firstborn saw the Israelites taking the lambs that Shabbat and asked them why. They replied that they were preparing a sacrifice to God who is going to kill the firstborn Egyptians. The firstborn then went to their fathers and to Pharaoh and asked that he let the Israelites go. As a result, the firstborn made war against their fellow Egyptians and that is why it says (Psalm 136:10) “who struck Egypt through their firstborns”. Indeed, the midrash quoted appears in Midrash Tanhuma (ed. Buber, Bo, paragraph 18), which was probably edited in Israel sometime between the 7^th-9^th centuries. However, the claim that this is the reason for the name Shabbat Hagadol is that of the Tosafot to Shabbat, which stem from the school of Rabbi Samson of Sens (d. 1230) and were edited by Rabbi Eliezer of Touques (d. before 1291).(2)
3. Finally, Sefer Ha’oreh, which is attributed to the school of Rashi (part 2, paragraph 62, p. 201), quotes a certain Rabbi Abraham z”l that when the Egyptians wanted to take revenge against the Israelites for taking the lambs for sacrifice on the 10^th of Nisan, “their intestines were on fire, and they were punished by afflictions and bad illnesses and they did not harm Israel. And since miracles were done for Israel on that Shabbat before Pesah, [it] was called Shabbat Hagadol”. This interpretation was quoted by at least fifteen other medieval halakhic works (see Kasher 1967, p. 50, note 1 and Zunz, p. 9, note 49).

These are clever explanations, but if the intent was to commemorate a miracle, it should have been called Shabbat Haness or Shabbat Hanissim.

2. Because on this day the Israelites performed their first mitzvah

This is the explanation given by Hizkiyah ben Manoah (France, mid-13^th century) in his Hizkuni commentary to Exodus 12:3 and by Rabbi David Abudraham (Seville, written in 1340) in his classic halakhic work (Abudraham Hashalem, p. 210). In other words, taking the Paschal Lamb on Shabbat, the 10^th of Nisan, was the first mitzvah performed by the Israelites, so they named that day Shabbat Hagadol.

Again, this is a clever explanation, but if so, it should have been called Shabbat Hamitzvah, the Mitzvah Shabbat.

3. Because the congregation must listen to a lengthy sermon

Rabbi Yitzhak Yoskonto, also known as Rabbi Yitzhak of Hungary (ca. late 12^th century) says that it’s called Shabbat Hagadol “because on the Shabbat before Pesah the people tarry to hear the derashah [=sermon] until after noon, until close to Minhah… it seems to the people that the day is Gadol [=large] and longer than another day, therefore they called [it] Shabbat Hagadol” just as Yom Kippur is called Tzoma Rabba, the big fast… “and it’s the custom of people…[if] they sit in one place and have nothing to do, it’s the custom to say how this day is Gadol”.(3) Indeed, Pinhas Roth (p. 108), quoting Prof. Simhah Emanuel, points out that that this is the first mention of the Derashah or lengthy sermon on Shabbat Hagadol.

As Rabbi Kasher points out, the Talmud actually calls Yom Kippur Yoma Rabba, the great day (Rosh Hashanah 21a and elsewhere) and thus Rabbi Moshe Matt (Galicia, ca. 1551-1606) says that according to this explanation, this Shabbat should have been called Shabbat Rabba (Mateh Moshe, paragraph 542). In any case, this explanation is not convincing. Yom Kippur is called Yoma Rabba, the Great Day, due to its importance. It’s a stretch to say that Shabbat Hagadol derives its name from a lengthy sermon,

4. Because the most important rabbi in the city gives the sermon

This explanation is adduced by Rabbi Kasher and Akiva Ben-Ezra without a source. In other words, it’s the Shabbat [of the] Gadol, of the great rabbi.

5. Since kehillot gedolot [large congregations] gather to hear halakhot gedolot [great laws], the laws of Pesah

This explanation was first given by Rabbi Menahem ibn Zerah (Spain, 1310-1385) in his Tzedah Laderekh (4, 3, 3, ed. Warsaw, 1880, p. 207). It was also given by Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (Poland, 1561-1640) in his Bayit Hadash commentary to Tur Orah Hayyim 429, s.v. Katav Beit Yosef.

6. In honor of the Haftarah which contains the word Hagadol in the last verse

This was first suggested by Rabbi Moshe Matt (cf. above) in the name of his teacher Rabbi Shlomo Luria (Lublin, 1510-1573; in Mateh Moshe paragraph 542): “It’s called Shabbat Hagadol, after the Haftarah which is read on that Shabbat, in which it says: ‘Lo. I will send to you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord, lifnei vo yom Hashem, hagadol v’hanora (Malakhi 3:23), and this also explains why it’s called Shabbat Hagadol and not Shabbat Gadol”. However, Rabbi Shlomo Luria himself rejected this explanation. If it was in honor of the Haftarah, it would have been called “Shabbat V’arva”, the first word of the Haftarah, just like Shabbat Shuvah between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and Shabbat Nahamu right after Tisha B’av.

7. Because on this Shabbat the Israelites did not return to forced labor

In his book Tzafenat Paneah (Venice, 1653, fol. 67d) Rabbi Yosef Di Trani (Greece, 1568-1639) relates in the name of his father Rabbi Moshe Di Trani (Safed, 1500-1580) that Moses asked Pharaoh for one day a week of rest, Shabbat, and every Motza’ei Shabbat [=Saturday night] they would return to toil and affliction. “But on that Shabbat… they did not return to slavery [after Shabbat], therefore it’s called Shabbat Hagadol, i.e., a long Sabbath day”. This is a nice derashah, but clearly not the simple explanation.

8. Shabbat Hagadol is a corruption of Shabbat Hagaddah

Some say that Shabbat Hagadol is a corruption of Shabbat Hagaddah, since there is a custom to read the Haggadah on the Shabbat before Pesah. As Rabbi Kasher points out, this explanation is farfetched for two reasons. True, there was a custom for children to read the Haggadah on the Shabbat before Pesah (Ra’aviya, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yoel Halevi, Bonn, ca. 1140-1225, paragraph 425, ed. Aptowitzer, Vol. 2, p. 58), but the custom of adults reading the Haggadah on the Shabbat before Pesah is first mentioned by Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau (Austria or Slovakia ca. 1400), who lived over 250 years after Shabbat Hagadol is first mentioned. In addition, many famous poskim such as the Gaon of Vilna and Rabbi Ya’akov Emden were opposed to this custom.

9. According to nine early sources, the Shabbat before each of the Shalosh Regalim [three pilgrim festivals] and Rosh Hashanah was called Shabbat Hagadol

This fact was pointed out by many scholars beginning in 1855, including Landshute, Zunz, Chajes, Elbogen, Aptowitzer, Gaguine, Bernstein, Kasher, Ben-Ezra, Karlinsky and Ashenazi.

Here are the sources, including two just recently published:

1. The Talmud relates (Moed Kattan 5a) that Rabbi Yannai had a pupil who asked him hard questions all year long, but not on Shabta D’rigla, on the Shabbat [before] the Festivals. In his Talmud commentary (, ed. Chajes, p. 15), Rabbi Shlomo ben Hayatom, who lived in southern Italy in the early 12^th century, explains: “But on Shabbat Hagadol before Pesah and Atzeret [=Shavuot] and Rosh Hashanah and Sukkah he did not ask questions” so as not to embarrass his teacher.
2. A Piyut by Rabbi Moshe b”r Binyamin Hasofer of Rome (early 12^th century) just published by Rabbi Ya’akov Stal from a manuscript: “Kedushta of R’ Moshe of Shabbat Hagadol of Shavuot”.
3. Shibolei Haleket (paragraph 205, ed. Buber, p. 160) = Tanya Rabbati (paragraph 42, ed. Baron, p. 152) were written in Italy ca. 1250. After giving the explanation of Rabbi Abraham mentioned above, they add: “That is why the Shabbat before Pesah is called Shabbat Hagadol. And so were they accustomed to call the Shabbatot [before] the Shalosh Regalim”.
4. Shibolei Haleket quoted in the previous paragraph says that it’s quoting the entire paragraph from Sefer Hapardes (p. 343), which is usually attributed to the school of Rashi. However, in his recent book about Sefer Hapardes, Pinhas Roth proved in a very convincing fashion that even though it contains much material from the school of Rashi, it was actually edited in Italy at the end of the 12^th Furthermore, in the Paris Manuscript of Sefer Hapardes which was copied in Italy in the 14^th century, the paragraph above ends with almost the exact same sentence as Shibolei Haleket = Tanya Rabbati (Roth, p. 108): “That is why it’s called Shabbat Hagadol. And so were the people accustomed to call the Shabbatot [before] the Shalosh Regalim”. Indeed, Aptowitzer, who had no access to the Paris Manuscript of Sefer Hapardes, nonetheless suggested in 1917 that this sentence in Sefer Hapardes was an Italian addition.
5. Mahzor Roma, Bolonia, 1540-1541 (quoted twice by Chajes; Kasher 1967, p. 54; Ashkenazi, p. 121: “A Yotzer [=piyut for Shaharit] for Shabbat Hagadol of Shavuot”. And: “Azharot of Rabbi Shlomo z”l… they recite them on Shabbat Hagadol of Shavuot”.
6. According to Rabbi Gaguine (vol. 3, p. 2), Mahzor Romania, which was the Mahzor of Turkish and Balkan Jews first printed in 1510, includes a Yotzer for Shabbat Hagadol of Pesah and for Shabbat Hagadol of Shavuot.
7. Shimon Bernstein printed a piyut for Shavuot entitled “B’notno Torah Kedoshi” from a Mahzor manuscript of the Jews of Corfu, Greece, found at the JTS library in New York. It says in the manuscript above the piyut: “The Shabbat before Shavuot is called Shabbat Hagadol” and on top of the piyut Bernstein printed: “Zulat [=a piyut recited during Shaharit of Festivals] for Shabbat Hagadol of Shavuot”.
8. An “ancient Siddur manuscript” from Corfu quoted by Rabbi Gaguine, p. 177: “The Shabbat before Shavuot they are accustomed to call it Shabbat Hagadol like the Shabbat Hagadol of Pesah” in honor of the great miracle which occurred then. And the miracle on Shavuot is the giving of the Torah. That’s why they are accustomed to recite on the Shabbat before Shavuot Yotzrot and Reshut like the Shabbat Hagadol of Pesah.
9. A Haggadah edited by the Lubavitcher Rebbe says: “In an old Mahzor in manuscript it’s found that the Shabbat before Shavuot is called Shabbat Hagadol, and so too the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah”. And he suggests that they used the same term “because they too come before Yom Tov” (Ashkenazi, p. 122).

Viktor Aptowitzer stated back in 1917 on the basis of sources 1, 3, and 4 that the custom of calling all the Shabbatot before Pesah, Shavuot, Sukkot and Rosh Hashanah Shabbat Hagadol was an Italian custom. However, we have now seen that this custom is documented in five early sources from Italy, one from Turkey and the Balkans, two from Corfu, and one manuscript of unknown provenance

The question is: which custom came first? Did the name Shabbat Hagadol begin with Pesah and spread to the other holidays; or did it begin with all the holidays and end up referring just to the Shabbat before Pesah?

Zunz, Lewy, Elbogen and Yuval maintained that the Jews borrowed the term Shabbat Hagadol from the Christians (as above) as a reference to the Shabbat before Pesah. They and Ben-Ezra also claim that this term was later transferred to Shavuot (and Sukkot?).

I believe that the opposite is the case. Rome and Italy were the capital of Catholicism. If the term Shabbat Hagadol was borrowed from the Church and Easter, we would expect that it would be used there only in connection with Pesah, but it is used in Italy beginning in the early 12^th century in connection with all three Pilgrim Festivals and Rosh Hashanah! Furthermore, according to the scholars quoted above, the term Shabbat Hagadol originally applied to Pesah and was then transferred to the other Festivals. However, four of the Italian sources for Shabbat Hagadol quoted above are just as early as the French/German sources which only mention Pesah!

Therefore, I believe that originally, all of the Shabbatot before these holidays were called Shabbat Hagadol. Rabbi Karlinsky (pp. 172, 179), thinks that this was a continuation of the Talmudic custom of calling all three Shabbatot before the three pilgrim festivals Shabta D’rigla as mentioned above (Moed Kattan 5a; Berakhot 30a; and more). On the other hand, perhaps they were called Shabbat Hagadol because they included many Piyutim which made them Gadol, or important. At some point, the name of the other great Sabbaths fell by the wayside.

As I maintained in my teshuvah about Kitniyot, just as the original custom of not eating Kitniyot related originally to all the Pilgrim Festivals but the prohibition ended up sticking to Pesah, the same thing happened regarding Shabbat Hagadol. Originally, this was the name of the Shabbat before all of the Pilgrim Festivals and Rosh Hashanah, but in the end, the name remained only in connection with Pesah.

May we contemplate all of these sources as we listen to the rabbi’s sermon or review the Haggadah on Shabbat Hagadol!

David Golinkin

Jerusalem

3 Nisan 5782

Notes

1. Mahzor Vitry, Horvitz, paragraph 259, p. 222 = Siddur Rashi, ed. Buber-Freimann, paragraph 352, p. 171 = Sefer Hapardes, ed. Ehrenreich, p. 343 = Sefer Ho’oreh, ed. Buber, part 2, paragraph 62, p. 201.
2. According to Prof. E.E. Urbach, Ba’alei Hatosafot, fourth edition, Jerusalem, 1984, pp. 601-605.
3. Quoted by Sefer Hapardes, ed. Ehrenriech, p. 343; Shibolei Halaket, Buber, paragraph 205, p. 160; Tanya Rabbati, ed. Baron, paragraph 42, p. 152; Mateh Moshe, paragraph 542.

Bibliography

Aptowitzer – Viktor Aptowitzer, “Zu Raschi’s Pardes”, ZfHB 20 (1917), pp. 14-15 (German)

Ashkenazi – Shlomo Ashkenazi, Dor Dor Uminhagav, second revised edition, Tel Aviv, 1987, pp. 114-123

Ben-Ezra – Akiva Ben-Ezra, Minhagei Hagim, Jerusalem-Tel Aviv, 1963, pp. 204-214 (an abbreviated or censored version of this chapter appeared in Shanah B’shanah 5742, pp. 272-280)

Bernstein – Shimon Bernstein, “Piyutim Upaytanim Hadashim Meihatekufah Habizantit”, Horev 5/9-10 (Nisan 5699 [1939]), pp. 114-115

*Chajes — Chajes, Rivista Israelitica 7 (1910), p. 153 in middle of note (Italian; quoted by Aptowitzer)

Chajes — Z.P. Chajes (Hayyot) in Peirush Massekhet Mashkin Lerabbeinu Shlomo Ben Hayatom, Berlin, 1910, p. 15, note 10

Elbogen – Yitzhak Moshe Elbogen, Hateffilah Beyisrael Behitpathutah Hahistorit, Tel Aviv, 1972, pp. 163 and 439, note 29 (the German original appeared in 1913)

*Fraind – Rabbi T. Fraind, Moadim L’simhah 4 (Nisan), Jerusalem, 2004, pp. 73-74

Gaguine – Rabbi Shem Tov Gaguine, Keter Shem Tov, Kaidan, Vo. 1, 1934, p. 177; Vol. 3, London, 1948, pp. 1-2

Golinkin – David Golinkin, “Rice, Beans and Kitniyot on Pesah”, Responsa in a Moment, Vol. IV, Jerusalem, 2017, p. 63-64, note 14 (also at Schechter.edu) = Teshuvot Va’ad Hahalkhah Shel Knesset Harabbanim B’yisrael, Vol. 3 (5788-5789), p. 54, note 14  (also at responsafortoday.com)

*Hilvitz – A. Hilvitz, Hikrei Zemanim, Vol. 2, Jerusalem, 5741, pp. 27-40

*Hoffman – Lawrence Hoffman, “The Jewish Lectionary, the Great Sabbath, and the Lenten Calendar…”, Time and Community in Honor of Thomas Julian Talley, edited by J. Neil Alexander, Washington, 1992, pp. 3-19

*Jellenik – A. Jellenik, Der Orient Literaturblatt des Orients, 1851, p. 287 (German; quoted by Landshuthe and by Yuval, p. 230, note 45)

Karlinsky – Rabbi Hayyim Karlinsky, “Hamekorot Lashem Shabbat Hagadol Bamidrashim”, Or Hamizrah 18/3 (Nisan 5729), pp 172-179

Kasher 1946 – Rabbi Menahem Mendel Kasher, Torah Shleimah, Parts 10-11, New York, 1946, p. 64, paragraph 72; Appendix 6, pp. 181-183; pp. 32-33

Kasher 1967 – Rabbi Menahem Mendel Kasher, Haggadah Shleimah, third edition, Jerusalem, 1967, pp. 50-54

Landshuthe – Eliezer Landshuthe, Maggid Meireishit, Berlin, 1855, p. xxi

*Leshem – Hayyim Leshem, Shabbat Umoadei Yisrael, Vol. 2, Tel Aviv, 5725, pp. 337-339

Lewy – J. Lewy, “Ein Vortrag uber das Ritual des Pesach-Abends”, Jahres-Bericht…, Breslau, 1904, p. 9

Roth – Pinhas Roth, Sefer Hapardes…, M.A. Thesis, Hebrew University, New York, 2008, pp. 108-109

Sharon – Moshe Sharon, “Shabbat Hagadol al Ketovet Kever Mi-Ramle Min Hameah Ha’asirit”, Shalem 1 (5734), pp. 1-14

Stal – Rabbi Ya’akov Yisrael Stal, “Piyyut Ashorer Letzuri…”, Mekhilta 2 (5781), pp. 5-6

Tabory – Yosef Tabory, Mo’adei Yisrael Bitkufat Hamishnah Vehatalmud, Jerusalem, 1995, p. 127 and note 186 (an extensive bibliography)

Yuval – Yisrael Ya’akov Yuval, Shenei Goyim B’vitnekh, Tel Aviv, 2000, pp. 223-241 (my thanks to Dr. Moti Arad for this reference)

Zeitlin – Solomon Zeitlin, “The Liturgy of the First Night of Passover”, Jewish Quarterly Review 38 (1948), pp. 457-459

Zunz – Leopold Zunz, Die Ritus, Berlin, 1859, pp. 9-10 = Yom Tov Lippman Zunz, Minhagei Tefillah U’piyyut Bekehillot Yisrael, Jerusalem, 2016, pp. 8-9

*    I have not yet seen these items in a direct fashion.

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